Anna felt as though she were under water, as if time was slowing down. She tried to quiet her nerves, taking in a deep breath as she stood before the door. She knocked loudly, silence resounding. When no answer came, she knocked again, an irritable groan coming from the other side.

"Klara, I beg of you, stop pestering me about it!" pleaded Hans.

Anna's words were stuck in her throat, no sound escaping her lips.

The door flew open, an angry Hans looking down on her. Then his expression shifted in realisation. They stared at one another in disbelief. Neither of them knew what to do.

"Anna..." he managed, but Anna had already surged forward, gripping him tightly.

She was sobbing into him, her protruding belly making it difficult to hold him close. Tears pricked Hans' eyes as his arms wound around her slowly. They couldn't let go, both of them making up for the years of time that had passed without the other.

Anna never thought she'd feel this again... his arms around her. It felt so different, so alien. It wasn't the same as before. It held a different weight. Hans finally shifted back, cupping her face in his hands. She stared up into his watery eyes and reached out, her fingers brushing the straggling hair from his face. Then they fell and touched his beard.

"This is new," she managed, and he choked out a laugh. They stood for a moment longer, trying to take the other person in. They both looked so different. "There's so much to say," she whispered, and he nodded.

Her hands sat over his, clasping them to her cheek. She had thought she would have held onto more of her anger. It was still there.

But in truth, she was so glad he was alive. She had never wanted to live without him... not with such finality. His touch was a living memory... the only reminder of the light in a dark time.

His eyes fell to her stomach. "You need to sit down," he said, Anna taking in his voice properly again after all this time. He closed the door behind them, guiding her to the bed as Anna accepted his help to lower her down. "Do you want some water?" he asked. She nodded. He seemed reluctant to let her go, but dutifully went to fetch her a glass.

Anna gulped it down, then turned to him again. Her eyes poured over him. She liked how his beard was more ginger than his hair, peppered with notes of grey. He looked older. Perhaps the beard simply reminded her of her father. She could see faint scars on his neck. That must have been where he was shot. She reached out and touched them lightly, Hans' eyes closing for a brief moment. She pulled her hand away and put it in her lap.

"Where do we start?" he asked

Anna let out a huffy laugh. "I have no idea," she admitted.

But really, she knew.

She had mulled over the questions in her mind all day long. It's why she was here at all.

"Karl," she said, Hans sucking in a breath. "Can you to tell me about Karl?"

"He didn't suffer," is all Hans could manage, choked by his own sadness. "And he wasn't alone. I had hold of him."

Anna couldn't stifle a sob. "How did he die?"

"He came back to get me," explained Hans. "He was trying to help me out after I was shot. I think he took a bullet in the back. But it was all so fast. I didn't see exactly."

"That makes sense," she mumbled, her tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," he said, Anna looking up at him. "It's my fault."

She shook her head. "You're no more to blame for him than I am for Freddie," she returned.

"Were you there when it happened?"

Anna shook her head. "Keller," she began, the name a strange sensation on her lips after so many years without it. "Keller, he was punishing me... Freddie intervened. They fought, and then they dragged him away. Keller shot him. I didn't know until..." She paused, a lump in her throat. "I didn't know until Keller took Elli and I to the pits. He'd left Freddie's body there for us to bury." She was crying so heavily, Hans pulling her into him. She sobbed into his chest, gripping his shirt as he rocked her. "I miss them so much."

"I do too."

"I still miss you," she managed, drawing back from him.

His eyes lit up, Anna remembering that look all too well. She had searched for it in them for so long. Now it was so painful.

"You came to find me," she said after a time, her voice throaty.

"I did," he replied, his eyes glued to her as his hand stroked her face. She stared at him.

"Why didn't you talk to me?" she asked, the pain in her voice evident. He sighed deeply. "Just because I was with Abe, you think I wouldn't want to know you were all right? I still care about you Hans... I never wanted you dead."

"I thought in that moment I was being selfless," he said quietly, "that if I went over there, I would confuse you and ruin your new life. That's what I told Klara any how... then I damn near convinced myself it was true." He took her hand now, squeezing it. "Truth is, if I thought showing myself to you meant I had a chance of a life with you, I would have run to you; no questions asked." Anna was taken a back. She wasn't sure what answer she had expected, but it certainly wasn't this one. "But when I saw you with him," he began, his words choked, "I knew. I knew how you felt about him. And I couldn't stand the rejection." He took another deep breath to steady himself. "If I made the choice to leave, I didn't have to see you inevitably look at me with pity in your eyes as you chose him."

Anna looked away briefly. "That's what you did with Elli," she murmured. "That's why you left me in the camp."

"Yes," he whispered. "I am a coward where it counts."

"Don't say that."

"There is no denying it," he sighed.

They sat quietly for a moment, Hans taking in everything about her. He'd managed the past year or so without dwelling on her loss. Yet, having her so close to him brought everything flooding back. She looked so beautiful. Pregnancy suited her so much.

His eyes drifted to her stomach, Anna noticing, her hand now resting lightly on her bump. "When are you due?"

"Within the month," she returned quietly. He wanted to reach out and touch it too. He didn't know why. He knew that was not his daughter in there. Yet somehow, he felt a tug towards it as though it was.

Anna's eyes brimmed with tears again. She knew what he must be thinking about; who had told him about their daughter? Their eyes met for a brief moment, Anna having to look away. How long had it been since she had truly looked into their steely grey colour? "Who told you about Reina?" she managed, Hans taking in a sharp breath at the name.

"You named her after my mother?" he breathed.

She nodded slowly. "She was your daughter too. I wanted you to be included."

He wound his arm around her shoulders, Anna holding his hand. They needed to grieve together.

"Altmann told me," he explained. "He gave me your letter."

She looked up at him, sniffing loudly. "You read it?"

He nodded slowly. They sat in silence, Hans' grip on her tightening. "What was she like?" he asked, Anna's face crumpling.

"S-small," she stammered. It's all she could say.

Hans kissed her forehead, resting his own against her cheek. She could feel his tears against her skin, and she couldn't help but lean into him. He was the only other person that would truly understand her loss in the same way she did.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled.

He looked up at her. "Don't you dare apologise," he said quickly, taking her face in his hands again as if to urge his point. "None of that was your fault."

"I should have been smarter about it-"

"You did the best that you could. The fault is mine. If I had not left..." He trailed off, letting his hands drop to his lap. He didn't know what to say to make this better. In truth, there wasn't anything he could say.

Anna let out a long breath, taking his hands again. "It's in the past now," she mumbled. "We can't go back."

"I wish we could," he admitted, their eyes locking again. "Every day I regret that stupid decision I made. If I had told you about your sister, then things would have been different." Hans drew closer to her, his nose brushing hers. "You would still be mine. And that's all I've ever wanted, Anna. Just you." He wanted to kiss her, that familiar anticipation lingering on his lips and setting his whole body ablaze. He wanted to be consumed by her the way he had been before. So much had happened between them since that last night he had held her. He wanted to drown in the ecstasy of her touch.

Anna could sense it too. But her heart hammered for another reason. She looked away from him, guilt and pity in her eyes.

There it was.

The look he had been terrified of since the moment he met her all those years ago.

Rejection.

Anna pulled away from him ever so slightly yet left her hands in his. It just wasn't the same. She could see that he burned for her. His look of longing and wanting was the very same as when they had been together. But she was different. She knew what honest, unconditional love felt like. And this wasn't it.

"Where is your husband?" he asked, the word like acid in his mouth.

"Asleep," she said. "This was a spur of the moment decision."

"He should be looking after for you at all times," sighed Hans. "In your current condition-"

"I'm not a child, Hans."

His thumb rubbed against her palm, turning her hand over to inspect it. "Your hands are so rough."

"What?" she said, taken a back.

"They were always so soft, but now-"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

He looked her over, his brow furrowed. "He's not looking after you properly."

"Hans-"

"No, this isn't right!" he insisted. "He's lucky enough to marry you, to father your child, and this is how he treats you?"

"Treats me?"

"Anna, these clothes are clearly hand-me-downs... your hands shouldn't be like this when you're pregnant, you should be resting."

"We own a farm, that's our livelihood."

"A farm? That's far too much for you in your current state."

"Hans, what are you doing?" she sighed, her voice pained.

"I'm starting to worry that I made a horrible mistake," he whispered, pulling himself closer to her. "You deserve more than this!"

"Stop spoiling it."

"I'm not!" he protested, squeezing her hand. "You should have the entire world! Anna you wanted so much more than this life you are chained to! What about going to Egypt?"

"None of that matters anymore."

"Your dreams do matter!" he urged. "He's not good enough for you."

"Don't you dare speak about Abe in this manner," she snapped, her eyes burning as she dropped his hands.

The anger had bubbled to the surface. Her relief was now over shadowed by the contempt she felt for him. She wavered to her feet, Hans trying to support her, but she slapped him away.

"Abe is everything I have ever wanted. He is a kind, caring and generous man. He loves me... and Elli. And we love him. He never abandoned us. Not once."

There was a horrible pause.

"I know I deserve that-"

"Yes, you do," she reiterated, her voice loud and sharp. "I came here because I needed to see you. I needed to see that you were all right. But you haven't changed, have you?"

"Changed?"

"You are still so consumed by your own view of the world. You are the only one who is right... the only one with all the answers."

"I just admitted to you that I made a mistake with Elli-"

"Then why can't you accept that I have moved on?" she cried, her voice wobbling.

His eyes were filled with hurt, his fists clenched as if to stop him falling apart.

"I didn't want to come here and wave my new life in your face. I just wanted to see you. I wanted to tell you how glad I am that you are safe. Why can't you be happy for me in that same way?"

"Because I still love you!" he shouted.

Anna fell quiet. It was so odd to hear him raise his voice.

"Anna, I have never stopped loving you. I can't stand that you are married to anyone else, but least of all an uneducated man from some tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Is that all that matters to you? To be loved and cherished? Because I would do that tenfold, Anna. I would provide for you and Elli and this child. I would spend every day making up for the time I so foolishly lost with you. And I wouldn't limit your life the way he does."

Anna breathed heavily, watching him as he shook with rage and grief. "You didn't lose it," she said in a low voice. "You threw it away." She took a step closer to him, Hans fighting every urge in his body to sweep her up in his arms. "Sometimes I wonder, did you ever really know me? I felt as though I had to hide so much from you for fear of losing you." She took a deep breath, Hans' eyes fixed on her. "Abe is the best thing that has ever happened to me. You speak of him limiting my life? I have never felt trapped by his presence."

There was a pause.

"But you did by mine," he managed, his voice throaty.

"I know you did everything you did to protect me," she sighed. "I know that you kept me hidden from the world because you wanted me to be safe. But I also think there was a part of you that wanted to be my saviour forever. You couldn't stand the idea that I wouldn't need you anymore."

"That's not true-"

"Isn't it?" she questioned.

They stared at one another, both of them overwhelmed by the other.

"It's a cruel irony, you know," Anna began, unable to meet Hans' eye.

"What is?"

"All of your clinging to me, your ridiculous possessive behaviour... and you are the only one other than my mother who has ever made me feel so alone."

Silence enclosed them in its tight, oppressive grip.

"Your mother died for you-"

"Not that one, Hans. My birth mother. Anika."

Hans choked down a small cough. "You're comparing me to the woman that abandoned you when you were six years old."

"Can't you see why?" Her words were sharp and pointed right at him. Her cheeks felt hot as her gaze finally met his. "She didn't hug me either, you know. When she said goodbye. Except at least with her, all I had to feel was hatred. And at least she had the decency to leave me with people who loved me." Anna took a step closer to him, Hans' eyes screwing tight shut at the barrage of hateful words continued to rain down upon him. "I had to look at your face and see that you loved me. I had to watch you climb into that car knowing it was hurting you as much as it was me. And that's the last image I had of you. Every wonderful thing you had ever done was completely eclipsed by that expression."

"Please, Anna."

Bile clung to her tongue, acrid and angry in her mouth. "It haunted my sleep, every waking thought, any time I was stuck beneath Ernst and his obsessions. And yet still, I was stupid enough to love you."

Hans opened his eyes. "You're angry because you still loved me?"

"Of course I am, Hans. You ruined everything. And yet I hoped every day you would come back. That's the reason Reina is gone, the whole reason why Ernst found out and beat me that badly. It's because I was trying to get to you."

Hans wavered on his feet. "I didn't know. I thought you hated me."

"I did. But I loved you all the same." Anna took a deep breath. "I grieved for you for a long time. Thinking of you nearly held me back from Abe."

"So, if I had stayed in Berchtesgaden-"

He was hopeful. Anna could see it.

"Then I would have been able to shout all of this at you then. And been able to say goodbye."

"But, you said you were torn."

"Not like that. You made me frightened to love someone again." There was another small silence. "Lucky for me, that I fell in love with the right person this time."

Jaw clenched, Hans shifted a little on the spot. He used to be so much more composed. "I forget how venomous you can be."

"And I forget how cowardly you are."

He looked his age now. Perhaps even older. The lines that had mapped his face now wore away at his skin as any other scar would on his body.

She'd let her anger best her again. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" Hans asked, his voice throaty.

"Like I've hurt you."

"Would you like me to lie?"

"You were always so pulled together!" She was louder and more shrill than she had intended. "Where is the fierce battle commander I remember? The man that used to break people just for unkind words to me... the man who always went toe to toe with me when I shouted-"

"He died beside Karl!" cried Hans, the words tearing from his throat. "Do you think you're the only one that is broken, Anna? Do you think you're the only one that has lost and suffered and seethed all of these fucking years? At least you got your happy ending." He pointed an accusatory finger at her stomach. "I have spent every day of the last two years knowing that you were out there and not being able to talk to you, let alone touch you! I haven't been with anyone else, Anna. They don't compare. Even now, when you are screaming at me I want nothing more than to fall to my knees and beg you to have me back."

"Hans-"

"Just stop it. I know I'm a fool. But even arguing with you is bliss." He breathed heavily, inspecting his trembling hands. "This is the first time I have truly felt alive since I left you in bed that morning."

"You can't mean that."

"You know I do. Tell me, honestly, when did you begin to feel alive again? When did all of this return to you?"

Anna gulped back a pained sob. "Abraham. It was with Abraham."

"So then you understand my emptiness, and yet stand here and behave like I wanted to hurt you. I'm a coward. Yes, I know. But I'm not contemptable."

"No, you're right. You're not."

Out of nowhere, Hans began to chuckle. An exasperated, throaty laugh as he wiped his tear stained cheeks.

"How can you be laughing?" Anna asked, incredulous.

"Because it's all ridiculous, isn't it?" He waved his hand between them. "Two years apart and all we've done so far is fight. You'd think it would be a sign that this won't work, and yet I feel that spark again."

Anna rubbed her belly a little, looking away. "I don't want to fight with you anymore, Hans. That isn't why I came."

"Was it just to say goodbye?" he asked, Anna flinching at the word.

"I just needed to see you," she whispered.

Hans closed the space between them, his hands resting lightly on her arms. He drew them up so that they rested between them. It was so strange. She felt a tug towards him, but it was the same way she would have felt a tug towards Karl or Freddie. Her skin didn't tingle as it brushed against his, her breath wasn't caught in her throat as their eyes met.

"Is there even some small part of you that loves me?" he asked, his voice hushed as he pulled her closer.

"Of course I love you," she returned. "But it's not the same."

He pulled their hands to his lips, kissing her fingers gently.

"You will always be my cellist, Hans. And for that I'm so grateful."

"Anna, I don't just want to be your cellist," he said quickly, Anna taken aback by this brutal honesty. "I am in love with you. You are the most precious thing in the world to me. Can you not give me a chance to prove that to you?"

"I love Abraham."

"I don't care."

"Hans don't make me say this-"

"Please Anna. Don't you feel this too? It's just how it used to be." He pulled her closer, letting his lips hover over hers as their eyes locked. She hung her head, but he lifted it. "Please, Anna. Don't you remember me at all?"

Anna went to counter him when they heard heavy footsteps thundering up the stairs towards them. There were raised voices, and Anna knew immediately who it was.

Abe came crashing through the door, his face filled with anger. When he saw her, his expression shifted to relief, then to concern.

"Abe," she breathed, going to turn to him, but Hans didn't let her go. If anything he held her tighter. "Hans," she pleaded but Abe had already stormed over.

Hans moved her gently to the side, immediately squaring up to Abe who towered over him.

"Get your fuckin' hands off my wife!" he bellowed, shoving him so that he moved a few paces back.

"Abe, please..." began Anna.

"It's all right, Anna," assured Hans. "I can handle him."

"I don't want you to handle him," she hissed. "Don't you dare do anything to him."

"We were just about to-"

"What were you gonna do?" barked Abe, Hans taken aback by his understanding.

But then he regained his composure. "We were having a conversation," returned Hans, "one that doesn't concern you."

"Would you be quiet, Hans!" snapped Anna.

Abe looked at her. He looked so hurt.

"Abe, it wasn't like that." She could see how deeply he was breathing, how he was supressing his rage. She looked up at the doorway.

Hollywood was standing beside Sam. He clearly hadn't given them that much of a head start.

"Can we go?" Abe asked Anna, his look pleading.

"Of course," said Anna, reaching her hand out for his. He sighed in relief, taking it and pulling her in. His nose nuzzled into her hair for a moment, Abe inhaling deeply.

"Anna, we hadn't finished-" started Hans

Anna shot him a look. "That's enough for tonight," she said firmly. "I'm leaving now."

"Anna, please!" begged Hans, going to catch her arm but Abe caught his outstretched hand, squeezing tightly.

"Lay another finger on her and I will break every bone in your God damned body," growled Abe,

Hans glared at him. "I would never hurt her," spat Hans.

"You already have," reminded Abe, throwing his hand down and wrapping his arm around Anna. He led her away, out passed Klara who didn't meet Anna's gaze.

They walked across the square in silence, then up the road to their hotel. Anna could feel Abe's tight grip on her. He didn't seem angry. This was something else, something foreign.

When they reached the hotel lobby, Abe turned to the other two. "Thanks for lookin' out for Anna," he mumbled to Sam, who breathed a sigh of relief.

"You know that's all I was trying to do, right?" he asked.

Abe nodded as he rubbed his eyes wearily. "We'll see you two in the mornin'," he said, now leading Anna away to their room. He seemed urgent in his need to retreat there, so she still didn't say anything.

When they got to their room, Anna closed the door softly behind her, Abe pacing in front of her. He looked dreadful; his face filled with worry.

"Abe, I'm sorry to make you worry," she began, but he came over to her and cupped her face. He had tears in his eyes, Anna gripping his clothes as best she could. "Abe, what's wrong?"

He was struggling to get the words out. "Have you any idea how worried I was?" he asked, his voice throaty. "When Hollywood came to tell me... I was beside myself."

"But why?" she urged. "I know it was a surprise, but I had Sam with me..." She looked closer at the expression in his eyes. "Y-you thought I was going back to him... didn't you?"

He hung his head, breathing heavily to stop any tears from falling.

Anna's heart hammered in her chest. "How could you think that?" He sniffed heavily. "Abe this isn't like you-"

"I don't know what to say?!" he cried, trying really hard to remain composed. "Anna, I have always known I ain't good enough for you. I try so hard to be everything you need but I-" He trailed off.

"But?"

"But I ain't him," he admitted.

Anna's own eyes filled with tears as he sat down on the bed, his forehead resting against her stomach.

"You still cry out for him in your sleep," he murmured. "It kills me every time I hear you. I know even if you're angry at him, that there will always be a part of you that loves him. He was your first love... and I know how intense that is because you're mine!" He looked up at her, his bottom lip trembling. "I would do anything for you... but I know he would too. And I'm so scared that you've gone and remembered what the two of you had."

She had never seen him like this, never felt this desperation in him before.

His hands rubbed her belly, Anna's fingers running through his hair. "You and him had a child together... your first child. I just don't know how I'm ever gonna measure up-"

"That's enough," she said, her voice choked by emotion. She lifted his face to look at her. "I need you to look at me when I say this," she insisted, her thumbs stroking his cheeks. "He never has, and never will, measure up to you." Abe's eyes were filled with confusion as she carried on speaking. "I have known since the moment I met you, that you are the best of men. You are the love of my life, Abraham. Our life together means the world to me. You are not my husband because Hans wasn't there. You are my husband, because I fell completely, and unreservedly in love with you."

"Are you sure?" he managed.

"Am I sure?" she whispered. "Abraham, I didn't need to go and see him to know that. I went because there is history between us, and there were things that needed to be said. But there wasn't even one small part of me that thought I would want him again. You have always held my heart in a way that he did not. I never want you to doubt that... ever again."

"But the way he was holding you-"

"I know how that must have looked."

"What was he saying to you?"

"He wanted another chance," she said, Abe's eyes widening. "But I had made it plain that my heart is completely yours." He got to his feet, Anna pulling him as close as she could. "I'm so sorry I made you worry."

"I was being dumb," he murmured.

"You can never doubt my love for you," she urged. "I couldn't stand it if you thought I had stopped loving you. Because it will never happen... ever." He kissed her, their damp cheeks pressing together. "I'm sorry I went to see him."

"I just wished you'd told me yourself," sighed Abe. "Hollywood explained that it was spur of the moment. But I would've gone with you."

"I think I felt like it didn't concern you, which is wrong."

"I kinda understand," he mumbled.

"I was being selfish."

"Yeah, but sometimes you gotta be," he said, his understanding clear.

"You say you don't deserve me," she managed. "I promise you, it's the other way around."

"No, it aint." He stroked her cheek. "I know you'll talk to him again tomorrow. But please don't shut me out this time."

"I won't," she promised. She kissed him, stretching up on her toes.

He got carried away, his tongue searching hers as she gripped him tightly. Then she winced in pain. His eyes grew wide as she rubbed her belly.

"Baby?!" he asked, but she breathed through it, waving her hand dismissively. "Them pains again?"

"I think our child is just telling me off," she said lightly. His mouth spread to a small smile, his hands resting over the expanse of her bump. He kissed her forehead, then cheeks, then lips.

"You gotta get to sleep, baby. You got a big few days ahead." Anna nodded, both of them undressing the other. He helped her down onto the bed, cuddling in close behind her as his arms engulfed her. She felt so safe with his bare chest pressed against her, his nose buried into her neck as their fingers laced together. There was a new found understanding between them. The question that had plagued him since the moment he met her was now truly answered.

Given the choice, she would always choose Abe.